The Ongoing Labors of Shindo Hikaru
by one.can.only.hope.0
Summary: Because girls don't play go, not really.
1. Kiin Hall

**Chapter 1: Kiin Hall**

* * *

Hikaru has some realizations and, as usual, kicks up a fuss.

* * *

"Come on! Come on! Let's go already!" Shindo Mitsuko tried to muster as much motherliness as possible, despite the mounting irritation her daughter was causing her. Hikaru was already on her third trip between the house and car, loading all of their luggage into the trunk. Usually, Mitsuko would be happy for the help, but Hikaru was acting like they needed to get out of the country before another atomic bomb came, and it was driving her to distraction.

"Hikaru!" A firm hand to the forearm stopped her blazing daughter for a bit. "There's no rush! The flight isn't for another six hours! Aren't you sad to leave this house and all your friends behind? You've been here since you were born!"

But Hikaru had gone off again, with that expression that Mitsuko thought she'd never be able to understand. Her little girl was getting more and more of those, expressions Mitsuko couldn't recognize at all, like she was growing an entirely new face. When she played go, when she talked about it, when she read those old poems; sometimes even when she would just sit quietly in her room, staring into space or at the ceiling, or playing go all by herself. Mitsuko worried, but she couldn't get Hikaru interested in anything normal girls (or even normal children) liked. She didn't know how this Hikaru suddenly appeared.

And then there was that time, right after Golden Week, when she'd disappeared for three days and barely spoke a word after she came back. She was often out of the house after that, but she never seemed to go anywhere, except perhaps her grandfather's house. That only happened a few times, but Hikaru only went in once, early on, and after that she would only ever hover around the yard, sometimes entering the house, pacing around the attic entrance but never going in.

It was a relief when Masao mentioned a transfer offer at work and suddenly Hikaru was all energy again. Not the same happy kind, maybe, more restless and frantic, but anything was better than the ghost she'd been for nearly a month. They could make this work. She was sure of it. Hikaru even left her go set unpacked and didn't say anything when Mitsuko had asked after it. Maybe Hikaru would find new hobbies when they landed in their new home. Better hobbies for a teenage girl. She would be back to the way she was, and everything would work out. Shindo Mitsuko held on to this hope as she watched her daughter hound Masao from the back seat, demanding they start off for the airport right now.

* * *

'…_aru…'_

Hikaru opened her eyes slowly, blinking in the last threads of sleep. 'Huh?'

Everything was so bright, but it didn't hurt her eyes. It was soft and warm, like the smile of someone she really didn't want to think about. But the pain didn't seem so acute here, wherever here was. She thought she felt the brush of white silk near her face, but let her eyes droop again.

'…_Hikaru…'_

Her heart gave a heaving pound and she was more awake than she'd ever been awake before. 'Sai? Sai!' And there he was, sitting serenely, without ceremony or dramatics (which seemed a little unlike him, but no way Hikaru was going to complain).

'Sai.' And he smiled at her, and oh, how it hurt and didn't he know how much she missed him and how horribly, agonizingly sorry she was and a million other far too overwhelming things. She wondered how much of that she was able to express with that one call of his name, but it seemed to be enough.

He unfolded his hand from his sleeve, and offered his fan to her.

* * *

"Sorry, Mom! Can't wait! Gotta go!" Hikaru hugged her mother as fully as she dared, just in case she got caught and physically wrangled on board. At this point, she was pretty sure her mother would institutionalize her to get her on that plane. She flashed at smile to the man behind her mom, who already half turned towards the gate. "Bye, Dad!"

Maybe she'd gained some secret ability to translate smiles today, but Hikaru thought that her dad seemed almost wryly amused by the situation. Not nearly as angry as a father should be at a daughter running off right before an international flight where the whole family planned to uproot and settle in another country entirely. He seemed relieved somehow, maybe glad even.

She didn't think much on it. She needed to get to Kiin Hall.

* * *

So, here it is. It's been some years now, but I think I've actually figured out a story I'm satisfied with, instead of just randomly typing. To those of you who like the old story better, I'm sorry. But don't worry, the premise has not changed, just undergone some deeper thought.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it; please leave some thoughts!


	2. New World (Good Morning)

**Chapter 2: New World (Good Morning)**

* * *

Hikaru jumps with both feet in, and makes a big, watery splash.

* * *

"Good morning, Sai!" There was, as usual, no response, but Hikaru always felt better saying it. Perhaps it was because of that last visit (she steadfastly refused to call it a dream), but she felt pretty confident that Sai was just somewhere else, not gone entirely, and maybe he could even hear her. And he was still here, of course, coming alive whenever she played go. Sometimes she liked to just lay there under the sun and thinking about Sai maybe sitting next to their goban or lounging against her bed thinking about the palace or Torajiro. This morning was special though, so she hurried to wash up and dress. The later came with some difficulty. Contrary to popular belief, Hikaru did like to look good, just not in the same way as Akari. Still, her usual casual fare didn't seem entirely appropriate.

When Hikaru finally came downstairs, she was wearing the white blouse from her stolen boy's Haze school uniform, with a black skirt and yellow tights. Her hair was tied up behind her the same way as Sai's. The shirt was a little big on her, but it looked good, or so Kanon-san told her. Tachibana Kanon and Susumu moved into the house after Hikaru finally managed to convince her parents to fly off without her. They never planned to stay abroad, but since her dad already took the assignment, it'd be hard to get out of it now. As it were, lucky for Hikaru the renters were nice people and had no children, so she ended up being able to stay in her own room. Most of the furniture was left too, most importantly, her goban. Her TV and game console were gone though, flying away in a cardboard box over the ocean, but honestly, she had barely touched either in nearly eight months.

Tachibana-san was quite serious. He was nice enough, but not interested in games of any sort, more focused on "practical" and "productive" things. His wife though, Kanon-san, was much more easygoing and loved all sorts of fun, but also so blunt that within the first week Hikaru had folded and told her that well, yes, she'd lost an important friend recently, and go was her only connection to him now, and she really loved playing so she couldn't possibly have flown off into another country where she didn't even know if they played go. It was more than she'd even told her mom, but maybe it was safer for someone who didn't know her very well and didn't worry quite so much or so hard about her.

She left the house soon after she came downstairs, grabbing a third slice of toast as she left, worried she might be hungry during a game but also anxious to be on time for the first day of the pro exam preliminaries.

To be honest, she'd been a little irritated she had to take an exam before the real pro exam, but she hardly had a foot to stand on in the pro world, so she relented and saw it as a chance to play more go. So when she saw the doors of the Nihon Kiin Hall, she smiled as brightly as she felt.

It was a new world. The base of the mountain, as Sai would call it. A very big, strong, wild, promising mountain, as far as Hikaru could see. A mountain where she could play go all day, filled with strong opponents, like some adventure RPG. They should really make a game like it. She'd buy it in a second, though she wasn't sure about most other people her age. She shook those random thoughts off. She needed focus today more than anything. A new world stood in front of her, and she needed to go all in.

* * *

The room was tense, and made Hikaru feel really uncomfortable. It reminded her of those kids at the tournament she and Sai went to so long ago, the one where she messed up a game and got scolded. It was the same type of tension in the air, just about a thousand times worse. Everyone was subdued and quiet. Some exchanged soft words in tight knit circles. It seemed the only people her age all knew each other and, if not huddled together, then at least stayed close. Suddenly, the whole thing seemed a lot more daunting.

She'd never really played anyone really strong face to face, has she? Sai didn't really count. The old geezers at the salons she went to with Mitani were good, but none of them would ever claim to be close to a pro. Sudden thoughts of the go club seemed to bolster and deflate her in the same instance, and she shoved thoughts of them away. It didn't make her less anxious though. Higher ranked online players had more strength, but it wasn't really the same as playing a real person when you were safe in your room, behind the computer screen. Honestly, she had no idea how good she was. She never looked at her own rankings online, and she played such a large variety, she never kept track of whom she won and lost against. All she really knew was that she wasn't as good as Sai, and what did that mean? It was like saying she was smaller than the universe.

She lost that first day. She didn't say anything to anyone as she slipped off, though it seemed many were feeling more sociable after their games. Hikaru went home and stayed up looking at kifu, doing tsumego, replaying games, challenging people online. She flitted from one thing to the other, unable to concentrate, but afraid to stop and go to bed. She lost the next day, too.

On the third day, during lunch break, she headed for the stairs instead of the elevator as everyone else still crowded around the lunch room, murmuring to each other about their own respective games. Six flights succeeded in extracting most of her trepidation, but her poor playing weighed heavier on her mind than before.

She wandered miserably down the lobby. What was she doing? What was going on? Her playing was so far below what she knew she could do, it was almost laughable. The buzzing in her head wouldn't quiet, and sometimes her vision swam a little. Could her strength have gone of rusty in just a month? Or maybe she was really no good without Sai? She screwed her eyes shut and leaned against a glass display nearby. She needed him. She needed him with her. She couldn't win without him. She couldn't even play without him. Sai…

Eventually, she opened her eyes again, blinking at the fluctuating black blobs ballooning in front of her. By and by, her vision cleared and she saw a… fan. A white paper fan. Unadorned white paper, no tassel, no calligraphy, just the polished handle of wood down the middle, painted ebony. It looked nearly the same as the one Sai gave her. He had given her his fan, hadn't he? And smiled at her, like he was proud of how she'd grown. Surely, he hadn't wanted to leave her; but if he thought even a little that she wasn't ready to be on her own, Sai certainly would've turned the heavens upside down to stay. And he wasn't really gone. That was the reason she decided to stay in Japan, to keep playing go and become a pro. Even now, he looked after her.

For a moment, Hikaru felt overwhelmed, then relieved, and then grateful and so loved. She went inside the store and picked up the fan, pulling out her wallet and walking to the check out counter. _'I think you just saved me again, Sai.'_

* * *

Hikaru won her three last games straight, always finishing before or just after lunch. She'd rush off then, and head over to Suyon's go salon. He wasn't there anymore, and most of the conversations were in a language she didn't understand, but the older players were strong too. After her match with Suyon, they warmed to her considerably. The owner, especially, treated her very well, even offering to waive the entrance fee. When some of the regulars teased him about hitting on young girls, he just smiled and replied that he was returning a favor for Suyon.

Things were the pretty much the same when she arrived, though she was grateful to see all the windows wide open and only a few people smoking. Maybe it was just because this was the biggest go salon she's been to, but she swore Korean go-playing geezers smoked even more than the Japanese ones, if that were even possible. Luckily, many of them seemed to think a smoke-filled room was not the proper environment for a young lady and even went out of their way to accommodate her when she started coming at the same time every day.

"Ah, Shin-chan! Welcome back."

"Thanks, Hong-san. Have you heard from Suyon? When is he coming back?"

Hong-san laughed at that. Hikaru didn't care. Before, she used to ask so much that the other customers started teasing her. Ah, Suyon? You just missed him. He came here yesterday, right after you left. Maybe tomorrow, eh? "Suyon is busy with his pro games in Korea. You should be focusing on your own pro exam, right?"

Hikaru huffed. "That's why I want to play him. I've got a month to train, but I can't just keep playing guys weaker than me."

"Oho, just us weaker guys, huh?" Kim-san came over, opening his fan and snapping it closed. "Be a little more polite to your elders, Hikaru-kun, or I'll have to stop going easy on you."

Hikaru glared. "As if! Let's play a game now, Kim-san!" He just laughed though, and patted her on the head. Hikaru wasn't sure if she liked Kim-san or not. He teased her the hardest and most often, but he was also her translator during her and Suyon's first meeting, a habit he took the time to continue even after Suyon left.

"Now, now," Hong-san, as always, stepped in as mediator. "_Jiseok, don't be so hard on Shin-chan. She's taking the pro exam, you know._"

Kim-san laughed. "_That's exactly why I'm being hard on her. She should've taken that damn thing ages ago. What's the harming, after she's kept Suyon waiting so long?_"

"_Suyon's not only waiting for Shin-chan to become a pro. He wants to gain more strength on his own as well. It's hard enough she doesn't have anyone her age to play go with._"

"_Yeah, yeah, I got it._ Hey, Hikaru-kun, huh?"

Stuff like this happened often, where she ended up third wheel in a conversation she didn't understand a word of. For not the first time, Hikaru wondered about her decision to come so frequently to a go salon full of foreigners. Still, Hong-san was her only connection to Suyon right now (little bastard even refused to sign up for net go), and she didn't have nearly enough pocket money to pay for a salon every day. So she just rolled her eyes and snuck off to play a game against Song-san.

* * *

"You'll need to train more, Nase."

Asumi smacked Ijima on the arm. "You don't need to tell me that." She sighed heavily. "Not only is Isumi-san back, but Kadowaki Tatsuhiko is also testing."

"That's only two. You could be the third person passing this year." Ijima pointed out encouragingly. He decided to quit the insei program a year ago so he could concentrating on getting into college, but that didn't mean he stopped playing go. Asumi, at least, made well sure of that. They still played once a week, and often just got together and hung out. Ijima was happy, but kind of missed insei life. Asumi needed someone to talk to that understood her world but also had a tether to the real one. Ironically, Ijima leaving made them closer than they ever were as fellow insei.

"Well, to tell you the truth, there's someone else scary. I played her for my fourth game and lost big time." She wrinkled nose at the memory.

"She can't have been that good, if she didn't win her three first games."

"Well, yeah. Actually, she lost twice in a row the first two days. And she left in the middle her game on the third day. After that, she just came back and totally crushed Fukui fifteen minutes after lunch ended. She's been getting resignations and then leaving right around lunch since then."

Ijima frowned thoughtfully. "That certainly is weird. How old is she? Could this be her first time taking the pro exam and that's why she couldn't focus at first?"

Asumi mimicked his expression, though hers was more put out. "Probably, she looked younger than I was. Fourteen or fifteen maybe? I wonder why she's not an insei…"

"Maybe she failed the exam? But that wouldn't make sense, if she's as strong as you say."

"Aaah, whatever! I'm not gonna think about it. Come on, it's rare Isumi-san and Waya-kun are both free on the same day as us. Let's just enjoy lunch and forget about this whole thing. Analyzing someone's past isn't gonna help me beat them, after all!"

Ijima let her drag him off in the direction of the sushi store where they were supposed to meet with Isumi-san, Waya-kun, and Fukui, but he was obviously still lost in thought. "Nase, what did this girl look like? Maybe Isumi-san will remember if she's been an insei or not."

* * *

Yay! Things are coming along nicely. I'm so excited for the chapters to come. I've already written a bunch of future stuff, look forward to getting more ideas as I re-read the manga. It's so nostalgic!

Maybe this might be obvious, but _'Italics' _is Sai talk and "_Italics_" is Korean. Hikaru, of course, doesn't understand Korean.

Anyways, I've got a vague idea of what I'd like to do, but please tell me if there's anything in particular you want to see!


	3. Cryo (or is that light?)

**Chapter 3: Cryo (or is that light?)**

* * *

Hikaru pays an old friend a visit, and meets some new ones, sort of.

* * *

"-and everyone on the net went crazy looking for you and there were all these posts and a whole bunch of rumors flying around. Some of it was pretty hilarious, like this one guy thought that you were some robot from the government and they were testing you with go to see if you could handle super spy missions." Hikaru laughed. "He made a pretty good argument, actually."

A wry smile slid across her face. "Well, no one came close to the "girl met go playing ghost and then craftily snuck to Meijin's house and set up game of the century but luckily only he came to the door so no one else knows what happened" theory," her face softened, and the smile grew more genuine. "And I made a new account."

"The screen name is _murasaki_. Don't laugh! Just because I'm not as pretty, or as gracious, or as good at writing, or as skilled at calligraphy… But I think my go is better than her's now. Oh, the pro exams! The prelims were… Well, I think I learned some stuff. At the very least, I managed to pass onto the actual exams. For the last three days, I had to win all in a row just to not get disqualified. It was, well, I… Thanks, Sai."

Hikaru shifted her position a bit, taking the chance to run a hand over the stone of Shuusaku's grave. "Have you two been playing a lot of games with each other? I'm jealous, even if all I did was get beat all the time. Honinbo Shuusaku, Torajiro. You got be with Sai your whole life, and now you're the one with him again, when I only got two years and three months. Well, maybe after I'm dead I can go play with you guys again. Will I be able to beat Torajiro-san? How do I compare now? I wonder… I wish I could be with you guys right now. I know Sai lives on only in my go now, but sometimes I…just feel tired."

Hikaru closed her eyes and breathed in the ocean air, telling herself she'd cried enough and that she needed to start getting ready for the real pro exams a week and a half from now.

She knew she was on the right path, but every now and again, whether she wanted to or not, Hikaru was back in the Haze Junior High chemistry lab, playing go with an old stained board and chipped stones. Doing tsumego with Tsutsui-san and Akari, bickering with Mitani, hiding Kaga from his scary homeroom teacher. Koike-kun. Kumiko-chan. Natsume. Kaneko. Even though Kaneko didn't come that often, Hikaru still missed her. She shook her head violently, trying to jolt Mitani-kun's accusing eyes, incandescent with fury, off the back of her eyelids.

She'd gone to the summer tournament, where Natsume, Koike-kun, and Kaneko were playing. It was nice to see more teams with both boys and girls in it, though there was still a separate all girls tournament next to the formerly all guys' one. Akari and Kumiko-chan were there too, and Hikaru was able to give the former her belated birthday gift. They'd been worried, but were happy to see her. Mitani spared her not a glance. When Haze won 2-1 in the finals, he looked right at her, and then left.

"Well, anyways," Hikaru cleared her throat. Pushing all thoughts of the go club away. "I'm looking forward to the real exam! I've been going to salons more. Especially that one I played Suyon at, but they say he went back to Korea two days after our game." She sighed. "I don't think I'll ever find anyone else like him. Do you remember Sai? It was such a great match. I don't think I ever played anyone who was exactly as strong as I was, plus he was about my age too. It's been a year since then. Apparently he became a pro already, but he should come back here once in a while, right?! Aw geez, stupid Suyon."

She sulked for a little while and then just sat there for even longer, but eventually she sat up and headed back for the train station, casting just one look back at where Honinbo Shuusaku laid buried.

* * *

The morning after she got back from Innoshima, Hikaru decided she didn't want to go back to Iro for a while. It was stupid, really, but she didn't want the possibility of those pitying looks again. Shaking her head, Hikaru lazily went through her morning routine, going as slowly as possible, not having any idea what she could do with the rest of her day.

_Two Days Earlier_

"Argh! Whatever, I give up!" Hikaru stretched back in her chair, then threw a handful of black stones over the closest goban.

"Shin-chan, you've almost got it. Let's keep-"

"No!" Usually, Hikaru listened to Hong-san. He was nice, and understanding, and patient, and he didn't ask her for money to play at his salon. But today she was tired, and irritated, and, and-

"I'm bored!" It just burst out of her. Apparently confessing your darkest secret wasn't as hard as one thought. Hikaru flushed with shame. "I mean- I'm not- I just…" Tears pricked in her eyes, and Hikaru felt so stupid her lower lip and chin started quivering.

No one said a thing, and the silence drew on until it was unbearable. Hikaru sniffed and a couple of tears fell out. "I love go. I mean, yeah, but it's just-" It was just too overwhelming, so Hikaru finally gave up and cried for a few minutes. When the tears waned, Hong-san had gotten a packet of tissues and offered it out to her.

"Shin-chan. It's okay. I understand that… That…" Hong Jun trailed off, not quite knowing how to respond to her latest outburst. He had a feeling of what was wrong, but couldn't really articulate it. Shin-chan was certainly able to play long and hard enough to get to the level she is at now. She must've had people, or at least one person, she, well, she liked. Not just liked, someone…someone she wouldn't get bored with, or, somehow, someone could play go with, really play, really…

"Ah." Well, go is a two-person game, isn't it? And what Shin-chan is really tired of is not having any goal. Neither he, nor anyone else at the salon, ever questioned why Shin-chan wanted to become a pro. In their eyes, it never bared any questioning. But, really, why? To improve her go? To what end? Shin-chan was not the type to simply want to be the best over anyone for pride. And a lofty goal like the Hand of God. Well, it was enticing enough, but Shin-chan had neither the strength nor maturity to truly want it for herself, and even if she did. Well, she needs someone to play it with, didn't she?

"Shin-chan. I'll write to Suyon. It's been a year already; surely he's due for another visit to his poor uncle. And perhaps you can find some insei here to play. There'll be many of them in the pro exam, so it couldn't hurt start playing them now. I'm sure they're around Kiin Hall somewhere."

"Oh, insei! A couple of them came in here this time last year. I remember since they showed up the day right after you." Jiseok laughed, but Jun didn't say anything, ready to intervene if his friend decided to run his mouth in the less than tactful direction again. "They were alright, but the short one sure had guts! Saying if they win against our two strongest players, that Jun should waive the entrance fee; but if they lost, they'd wash all the stones."

Unfortunately, it seemed Jiseok wasn't whom he needed to worry about today, so much as everyone else. During the time Jun was speaking softly to Hikaru, many of the regulars had slowly gravitated toward them and were now all at once speaking up.

"You know, a grandson of mine plays go. Ahaha, he's a few years younger than you and not very good though. I'll tell him to come around sometime."

"You know, Shin-chan, you're working too hard. A young girl should go out and date a little. I know a nice, Korean boy who's the son of a friend of my wife's."

"Bah, she doesn't need any of that dating nonsense. She's only in junior high, for cryin' out loud. Shin-chan, my nephew's high school go club is really strong. You should go check them out. I'll give you the address and-"

Jun was almost relieved when Shin-chan finally just stood up and left, quieting most of the chatter. He waited a few seconds after the door closed before loudly clearing his throat and saying to no one in particular. "It's a good thing we let Shin-chan have some space and think about things on her own. Some quiet sure will be good for her."

He was satisfied when a number of his patrons actually blushed. He resolved to give his old friend, Yun, a call. His school's go club was supposed to be quite good, and he was sure he'd heard him mention something about insei at one time or another. He also decided that maybe getting a tie with five games at the same time was a bit much. Shin-chan had really only done it successfully with four games once before. Perhaps now was not the time to push her to the point of frustration, with the pro exam little more than a week away.

* * *

_Present Day – 5 days until pro exam_

"Um, Shindo-san?"

Hikaru gave a start and looked up at the girl who spoke. It was the same girl she played on the fourth day of the prelims. "Um… Haze?" Hikaru wanted to kick herself on the head. Of course, that wasn't her name, but it was the first one that popped up.

Thankfully, she was still smiling. "It's Nase. Um…" Nase-san frowned, pausing a moment. "Shindo-san, what are you doing sitting on the floor?"

"Oh." Hikaru looked around her, blinking. "Well, actually, I was just… I mean, I came here and then I didn't know what else to do. I got tired just standing around so I…sat down."

Hikaru fought the urge to literally kick herself in the head, but that would mean that Nase-san would think she was crazier than she already did. The older girl seemed to be taking it well though. "Did you need to get some paperwork done here and get lost? It's okay; this place can get a little confusing for new people. It's your first pro exam right?"

"Um, yeah!" Hikaru smiled, and stood up. "Do you have friends?"

They each stared at the other, one in abject horror of what came out of her mouth, and the other in utter confusion and maybe a little indignation.

"…What?"

"I mean… I mean… Just, like, who do you play usually? You're an insei, right? Are there any other around here?"

Nase-san relaxed a bit, although she still seemed pretty confused. "Well, no. Insei classes don't meet up during July or August, because of the pro exams. I'm only here because I need to speak with Sakai-sensei about something." Hikaru deflated, sighing long and quietly. Maybe just showing up here was a little too random. What had she been expecting anyways?

"But, you know, there are rooms for the public to play games. You might play someone there." Nase-san smiled at her, even though she'd been acting like a complete psycho. Hikaru smiled back, more brightly than she had in a while. "Thanks!"

* * *

Unfortunately, the public playing room was a little sparse, and not many of the people playing, while a good average 15 years younger than the crowd she was used to, were not as good as she'd hoped. As a result, Hikaru found herself wandering the building again. She'd caught sight of a fair number of people getting off the elevator earlier, but all of them looked kind of in a hurry and not very much in the mood to play go with a strange girl.

Finally, she just sat down in the middle of the lobby floor again, if anything just to be petulant, almost immediately after the elevator doors opened again and a boy about her age stepped out. Well, she thought it was a boy based on how tall he was and they way he dressed, but from the neck up he was probably prettier than any girl she'd ever seen. Well, Akari was pretty in a completely different way, and Sai, of course, would be the most beautiful human she ever laid eyes on, even if he wasn't a girl…or a human.

During her inane internal rambling, he'd already moved to stand in front of her. Hikaru vaguely recalled doing something like having stared at him all the way from the elevator to where he stood now, but well, whatever, she'd already broke the meter of how weird a person could be in a day so it really didn't matter now.

She stood up, smoothed out her skirt, looked up at him (gosh, was he tall), and smiled. "Hi! Do you play go?"

Touya Akira frowned. He was already a little off kilter after being kept late by Amano-san, whom kept asking him a series of disconcerting questions about what he thought of the younger, newer pros. It wasn't the questions themselves that were disconcerting per se. It was more that Akira had really made up half his answers on the spot. He vaguely knew all of the people who'd passed with him or the year before; he just…didn't really think anything about them. That was hardly an appropriate comment about his peers, however, so he did his best to come up with the most amiable answer.

"Well? Do you?"

Akira's attention snapped back to the girl. She definitely looked like she's gotten lost here on the way to somewhere else. Not so much her appearance as…well, no one who really played go would seem so casually restless and unfocused. She was altogether too wild looking, he decided, although the wording made him feel silly. He opened his mouth to answer her. "No one's ever asked me that before."

Huh, that's strange. It wasn't what he'd intended to say at all. A simple yes would've sufficed. She would've gone on and asked for directions, or interrogated him about why he would play go when he wasn't old and then asked for directions.

"Oh." She looked at him; rather they looked at each other. "Well… If you do play, do you want to play a game with me?" She smiled at him then, and he recognized the same smile he used with Ichikawa-san, with his mother when he'd been younger, and sometimes now with customers. It was a smile that made things easier. Now Touya Akira wasn't the sort who was interested in lots of attention or using a smile to get his way; but he'd been cute and smart as a kid, and some things one sort of just picked up on.

"I've had a tiring day. I'm sure there are plenty of people in the public playing room whom will be happy to play a game with you."

"Boo, no! You're the first person my age I've seen. Come on!"

So that's what it came down to. He should've known really. "I'm sorry, I really don't have the time."

"Nope!" Akira knew he was blushing, and it was ridiculous, of course; but he'd never had much contact with females his own age before, and this one he'd met a couple minutes ago was now latched on his arm and dragging him. "You're coming with me! Don't worry; I've got a good feeling about this. My gut's never wrong! Well, I mean there was that- but still!"

Now he knew he needed to get free before something disastrous happened. "I really don't think this is a good idea." He also needed to focus his thoughts better. Akira didn't think he could've been less convincing if he tried.

As it was, she just smirked at him, though it quickly broke into a grin. "What's wrong? Scared of losing to a girl?"

* * *

Phew, I hope there isn't too much explication, especially in the first part. I really didn't want to write a "super Hikaru shows up and beats everyone with her supernova go strength." It wouldn't make sense, really.

Honestly, I'm having some trouble nailing down Touya's character. It's been a while since I've read the manga, but so much of it is just Hikaru's perspective on him. I'll try harder! Even if re-reading the manga is hardly hardship.

**So a couple of notes.** Iro is the canonical name of the Korean go salon where Hikaru played Suyon; it means willow.

Sakai Maki is the regular insei teacher we know and love. I couldn't find his actual name, so I gave him the name of a real life insei teacher.

**Update 1/12/14:** I'm very sorry for all the typos. I was real tired went I wrote that last part.

As always, I'm hungry for feedback. Please and thank you!


End file.
